Learning From Mistakes
by The Black Rosette
Summary: In a twist of fate, Tom Queens Stryder discovers the truth about his past and his father. Now Casey must return to the caves and has come to terms with her feelings for both Jamie and Ian, but will people be forgiving and can Casey learn from her past mistakes? Sequel to Accidents Will Happen.
1. The Truth

**So this is the sequel to **_**Accidents Will Happen**_**. It is set around fifteen and a half years afterwards. Yeah, I know, big gap but you'll understand. I needed an older Tommy for the story to work. I'm not use how this first chapter will go. It has taken me ages to get it 'right.' I'm still not sure about it, so please let me know what you think.**

* * *

The car bounced and skidded across the sun-baked desert. Light was just starting to peak up over the horizon. The five occupants of the car were discussing the upcoming journey and how it would go. For one boy it was his first ever time on a trip like that and he was almost overcome with the joy of not only getting a chance to see more than just the small hideout they lived in, but finally getting a break from the things with his mother.

"You excited, Tommy?" The man, Burns Living Flowers, in the passenger seat asked the boy. He was a kind man, who was almost, but not quite one of a kind. He looked just like each of the other people in the car, except for his eyes which had a glowing ring of silver shining through them and of course his unusual name. He was the greatest asset to the group and could assure much of their survival.

"Of course he is! It's his first time out!" The woman sitting beside Tommy, Rachel, laughed. The two other occupants of the car chortled at Rachel's remark. The driver's name was Nate. He was the leader of their little gang and their small colony back home. The other man who sat on the other side of Rachel was Rob, a cautious man who was and always had been sweet on Rachel.

"We better stop for the day and head off again tonight," Nate told them all. A groan echoed throughout the small space. "I know, I know, you're all eager to get going, but I reckon we'll be safer and better off going to Jeb's for the day."

"Do they know we're coming?" Rob asked.

"No, but someone will see us and they'll send a welcoming committee for us no doubt," Nate chuckled. The car bounced across the desert for a short while longer before Nate veered off towards a large cluster of boulders. He drove around the boulders and an opening appeared in the rocks. The inside was squashed and dark but Nate knew what he was doing. There was already a space waiting for him as usual. He pulled into the space and just as he turned his keys and cut the ignition, the figures appeared in the opening; five to be exact. Their numbers always equalled the number in the car. Nate opened his door and climbed out. He nodded at each of the figures in turn.

"Nate, we weren't expecting you," one of the figures stated. Burns, Rob and Rachel all got out of the car leaving just Tommy still sitting inside unsure of what to do. The five figures moved into the cave out of sight and it was now that Tommy was able to see them properly. The man who had spoken was tall and solidly built. He seemed to be around his mid to late forties and had slightly greying golden brown hair. Beside him was a woman who looked around her late thirties and had long, mahogany hair that blew in her face slightly with the breeze. Just behind them stood a man that looked in his early forties with dark, ink black hair. Even in the dark Tommy could see that the man had the most vivid, beautiful blue coloured eyes he had ever seen. Just behind him was another man that looked much like the one standing in front of him, except slightly older and bulkier. Tommy was sure they must have been brothers. And finally bringing up the rear was an older woman, around her mid-sixties, with a long salt and pepper braid. Tommy couldn't help but be fascinated by the group as he had spent his entire life looking at the same small group of people and, therefore, the new faces were interesting to him.

Tommy realised Nate was chuckling at what the first man had said, "When are you ever expecting us?" Nate chortled; the man laughed and shook Nate's hand in a familiar way. "Do you mind if we pop in for the day? We'll be off again as soon as the sun's down." The man shrugged.

"Sure, better off being safe, right?" The man grimaced and then he sighed, "well come on then." Tommy knew he needed to get out of the car now. Carefully he eased open the door that Rachel had left slightly ajar when she had exited the car and slid out. He walked slowly and cautiously so he was standing beside Rachel. Rachel was like a mum to him and he trusted her more than anyone. He needed to. Without thinking Rachel reached for Tommy's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She remembered when Tommy and his mother first arrived at the cave. Casey had been a wreck; her moods constantly going up and down, suddenly breaking out into tears. It was like that for years and even after that Casey still had issues with her mental health and depression. In those years Rachel had filled the gaps left in Tommy's life by his mother's health; she had been the one to see him walk first, talk first and was the one he would always come to in his times of need. The only problem had been that Rachel could not fill the gaps in Tommy's past that Casey could. Rachel did not know about Tommy's father or what had happened to him. She always could not help but despair when the boy asked her about his father and she could not supply the answers he needed, even though she knew that was not her fault.

The group from Jeb's cave started to walk out of the space and Nate's group followed. Tommy did not let go of Rachel hand, nor did she drop his. They fell to the back of the group and Tommy watched between the other people curiously. The man who had spoken to Nate and the woman with the long mahogany hair's fingers were entwined together and they both kept bumping into each other slightly as they walked. The two men that looked like brothers were having a conversation, and the older lady was chatting to Nate and to Burns. Rob was walking along by himself just ahead, kicking stones and creating tiny puffs of dust with his feet.

Rachel knocked Tommy in the leg with their hands to get his attention, "The man who spoke to Nate, his name is Jared and the woman he's holding hands with is Melanie, his partner. The brothers are Kyle, the older, bigger one, and Ian, the younger, more pleasant one. The other lady is Trudy. They're all from Jeb's caves; there are more than forty of them living there, including the kids." Tommy nodded slowly. More than forty didn't even seem possible to him, how could they fit more than forty people into one hideout? Rachel knew exactly what Tommy was thinking, "I know it sounds impossible, right? Well there are and the caves are huge! You'll see soon enough for yourself."

They walked in silence and the sun had finally risen over the horizon. Tommy wished it would go right back though because even though it was low, it was already boiling. Just ahead of him the woman, Melanie, turned slightly so her face wasn't getting quite so much glare. That was when she saw Tommy for the first time. She gasped slightly and turned her head quickly away. She moved her head beside Jared's ear and whispered something to him. He whipped his head around to look at Tommy as well. His mouth was slightly open in shock. He came to a dead stop and turned around to face the others, as did Mel. They both just stared at Tommy not knowing what to say. There was no doubting who he was; he looked exactly like Jamie, except for his mother's eyes. Ian and Kyle, Trudy, Burns and Nate, and Rob all began to stop when they noticed Jared and Melanie.

"Something wrong Jared? Melanie?" Nate asked in a confused tone. Ian was the next to realise what they were staring at and was the first to verbally acknowledge who they were seeing with a simple, "shit." Tommy was not sure what to do or why they were staring at him like they were.

"We...we can't…" Melanie whispered, "Jamie." She covered her mouth with her hands and a small strangled sound came out of her.

"What's wrong?" Burns asked her. Melanie just shook her head and Burns turned to look at Jared. Jared turned to face Melanie and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her head lightly and then looked back up at Burns.

"Have you met Mel's brother Jamie?" Jared asked Burns evenly. "Have you, Nate?"

"Yes, a while ago…" Nate started.

"Do you remember him?"

"Yes, he was much younger when I met him, only about nineteen. Nice boy, he was, though he was quite vacant at times, like something was missing from him."

"Look at Tom."

"How do you know my name?" Tommy demanded. Nothing the people around him were saying made any sense to him and now Nate too was staring at him like the others. Nobody answered his question, so he asked again; "how do you know my name? You knew my name was Tom, how?"

"Tom..." Melanie whispered.

"You can't just tell him!" Ian yelled.

"Why not?" Melanie demanded, "why shouldn't he know who he is, Ian?"

"Who I am?" Tommy stared intently at Melanie.

"What has your mother told you?" Melanie asked Tommy.

"Nothing," Tommy sighed, "she's never been in a good headspace, once I asked and she got really angry at me and then she kept apologising and saying she loved me. After all that she was depressed for ages again. I felt awful because she was just getting back to a good place after so long." Everyone from Jeb's cave exchanged looks. They had seen a depressed Casey and they weren't nice memories.

"How bad does it get?" Ian asked Tommy in a pained voice, "is Casey okay now?"

"You know her?"

"She was my best friend." Ian told Tommy sadly. "Is she any better?"

"It comes in waves," Rachel spoke up. "Sometimes she is fine, and she is such a beautiful person when she is well, but when she's down, she gets way down. We have to watch her all the time when it gets really bad."

"Tell them why we have to watch her," Tommy snapped.

"Tommy, I don't think that's necessary," Rob warned.

Ian walked closer to Tommy and stared into his eyes that were so like his mother's.

"Why do you have to watch her?" Ian asked.

"Because if we don't she'll try to kill herself. Once she slit her wrists; if Rach hadn't of found her and got some Heal onto her wrists, she'd have done it." Tommy told Ian. He looked over Ian's shoulder and saw everyone looking at him. Melanie had a tear running down her cheek and Ian looked like you could push him over with a feather. Tears welled in Tommy's eyes but he didn't want anybody to see so he turned around and faced the way they had walked from.

"You still want to tell him, Mel? After what you just heard do you really want to break his heart even more?" It was Ian that was yelling. Everyone began yelling at each other but Tommy didn't turn around. He knew exactly what he was going to say though and he knew the effect it would have it would have on the group.

"I want to hear the truth."

Everyone stopped mid-sentence, just as Tommy had predicted. They all stopped their arguments and their attention turned back to Tommy.

"Tell me the truth!" He yelled turning back to face them. He was crying but by then he didn't care. He needed the truth more than anything.

"Tom, you were born in Jeb's caves. I'm your aunty, my brother Jamie is your father." Melanie told Tommy.

"No." Tommy whispered, "Mum said she didn't know where he was, she said for all she knew he was dead! She said she didn't know!"

"Tommy, your dad is alive; your mum always knew where he was and that he was alive."

* * *

**Hmm… a cliffy. I hate cliff hangers. So Casey's depression wasn't a one off thing, it's serious; could it be lack of Ian induced? Yes, probably, I mean who wouldn't be depressed if they didn't have Ian? Um… So as I said I'm not sure about this as a first chapter, it's definitely taking a leap jumping so far ahead but I don't know. Also was the end rushed? I was trying to get across Mel's whole get things over and done with attitude and the whole you're better off knowing.**

**So please, please review and let me know. Please, I need feedback. It helps me greatly. Also for all of you Hunger Games fans, I have almost finished the first chapter of my very first Hunger Games story. It's mostly about grief and the lifelong scars and nightmares left with the people who were involved with the Hunger Games and the war. Oh and it has Finnick's beautiful son in it and who wouldn't love that? (His name is Caspian.)**

**TheBlackRosette**


	2. Sun Burnt Necks

"Melanie, how can you be so insensitive?" Ian yelled, "do you have _any _empathy at all? Look at what you've done to the kid!" Ian's arm swung up and he pointed towards where Tommy had run to after Melanie had told him about Jamie. Tommy was about fifty metres away from them and his knees were pulled tightly into his chest and he was hugging his legs. His head was between his knees and he was facing away from them.

"He asked for the truth!" Melanie yelled back at Ian in defence.

"Did you have to be so blunt and so cruel?" Ian demanded. "Oh, Tom, I'm your aunty, my brother's your father! Oh, Tommy, your mother's a liar she knows _exactly_ where your father is and she didn't want to tell you!"

"I never said that!" Melanie snapped.

"You may as well have!" Ian snapped back. The silence that followed was heavy and unpleasant. Nobody was quite sure what to do. They didn't want to stay out in the open for long now that the sun was well and truly up, but they couldn't just leave Tommy either.

"What happens now?" Rachel asked.

Nate sighed, "we can't bring him on the raid now. Not in the state he's in. We'd have to take him back I guess."

"I don't think he's going to want to see Casey for a while now," Burns sighed.

"Then what do we do with him?" Nate asked Burns.

"Bring him to the caves," Jared stated simply, "what? Is it such a terrible idea?"

"We could get Isla to talk to him," Trudy suggested, "Be nice for the kid to talk to someone close to his age." The other's nodded in agreement. Nobody stepped forward to be the one to talk to Tommy. The group stood avoiding eye contact, praying it would not be them. Finally Jared sighed and began towards Tommy. The sandy gravel crunching beneath Jared's feet was the only sound as he approached the boy. When he was beside Tommy he dropped down to the ground and sat cross-legged beside him. Tommy's eyes darted quickly in the direction of Jared before returning just as quickly to staring straight ahead. Apart from his tiny eye movement and the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, Tommy was completely still like a statue.

Jared shifted uncomfortably on the spot, "Mel shouldn't have been so abrupt." Tommy didn't respond, "Mel is just Mel, she's like that. She doesn't like holding off on things, you know?" Tommy didn't know first-hand, but he was already getting that kind of vibe. "Are you going to say anything or are we just going to sit here for a while and let the sun burn our necks?"

"Why didn't she tell me the truth?" Tommy whispered.

"Your mum?" Jared asked gently. Tommy nodded and the corners of his lips twitched slightly, not into a smile, but into something that more closely resembled pain.

"You said she was not well?" Jared pried carefully and politely.

"She has her ups and her downs. More downs than ups," Tommy mumbled, he wiped his nose with his hand and sniffed. "I used to wish Rachel was my mum."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Tommy sighed. "Rachel was more like a mum anyway. She looked after me, loved me, let me be hers; but Mum was always still there, lurking in the background. Don't get me wrong, when she was up she was great, but well, it still wasn't enough." Tommy's fingers slowly drew circles in the dust.

Jared watched his finger s and their slow circular movements and couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of guilt that overtook him. He knew he shouldn't be guilty, yet he was. How could they have not have stopped Casey taking him anyway from his family, from all of that love. He should have gone to retrieve the boy; Jeb should have made Casey stay; Mel should have yelled at him until he went to find Tommy; Jamie should have asked for his son back; they should have visited him. There were so many could haves and should haves, so many things that they could not undo; but now was their chance.

The words flowed from Jared's mouth without any hesitation, "Come to the caves Tommy; come back with me, with Ian and Mel and Trudy. You can meet your dad and everyone there. Ian has a daughter who's only about a year younger than you, you two could talk. How long has it been since you spoke to someone near your own age?"

Tommy shrugged, "Never really. There was this guy, Tristan, who lived with us for a while last year. He was like eighteen and alright to talk to, but he was only with us because he and his girlfriend broke up. He was from another group further west."

"You know about geography?" Jared asked immediately in surprise.

"Rob has lots of maps and things back out our place. He used to show the map and teach me about the world and all these different countries. He told me stories from the past; about wars and movements, colonisations and witch hunts, ancient worlds, gladiators, and medieval knights," Tommy explained. "I loved the story about Robin Hood."

"He was like a teacher then?"

"Sort of, Rachel taught me to write and about maths. Burns taught me about the souls and all their different worlds," Tommy smiled, "Do you know about all the different planets? All the Bats, and the Spiders and the Dolphins?"

"Yes, Wanda, my friend, told me and all the others in our caves about them. I liked the Bears best." Jared told Tommy.

"I like the Bears too," Tommy agreed, "Though I like the Dragons best." Jared couldn't help but be reminded of Jamie every time the boy spoke. Tommy looked up from the dirt and looked carefully at Jared. He frowned as if something was troubling him. "Do you hate what happened to the world?"

Jared was blown away by the question; years ago he would have known his response immediately; yes. But then he met Mel, he met Jamie and suddenly not everything seemed quite so bad. When Mel was caught all of that crumbled, yet in the end she came back to him. He might not like the situation human were in but he no longer hated the world. Rather than say this though he said one word that answered the question as simply as it was asked: "No."

"Can I go with you?" Tommy whispered. Jared smiled slightly at the boy and nodded. He stood up and brushed the dust and stones from his backside and then offered a hand to Tommy who took it and let Jared help him to his feet. The others had all gone by then; headed off to the safety of the caves and out of the blistering sun.

"Your neck is burnt," Tommy told Jared with a smile.

"So is yours," Jared laughed back at the boy with a smile.

* * *

That night Nate, Burns, Rob and Rachel returned to their hideout. They all felt obligated to tell Casey that her son would not be back for a while. They reached their place in the early hours of the morning, before sun rise. It was a large, old homestead that was falling apart in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly no souls ever came to find out whether the house was occupied or even just to have a look; it was completely untouched. There was a shed that was well-stocked with fuel for the cars and three large water tanks which filled to overflowing during the rainy months. Just a mile away was a small cave that served as a bunker in case of an emergency, but was not large enough for permanent living. They stored the cars in another cave about a mile in the opposite direction.

Before the four even made it inside the house, Casey was standing on the veranda searching the group desperately.

"Casey…" Nate called out to her.

"Where is he?" she shrieked. "Where's my son?"

"He's fine." Rachel said firmly.

"Then where is he?" Casey hissed, "You said you'd look after him! He's all I have"

"He's at Jeb's place," Nate told Casey calmly. Casey's mouth dropped open. It open and closed with no sound coming out as she processed the words she had just heard. Her son was at the caves. He was with Jamie.

He was with Ian.

"I have to go," Casey whispered. She pushed between Rachel and Burns and headed out in the direction of the car's hiding place. Rachel grabbed Casey's arm, Casey ripped her arm free.

"Casey, just give it time. You can go in a few days." Burns whispered rationally.

"No." Casey told Burns firmly, "I'm going now. One of you can drive me or I'll walk." This was not an empty threat, they could see this in Casey's eyes, she was dead serious. The rest of the occupants from the homestead had gathered on the veranda to watch what was happening. Nate took a step closer to Casey.

"Not today," he told her, "It will be light too soon. We'll go tonight, okay."

"Promise me you'll take me tonight," Casey demanded quietly. It wasn't strong; in fact you could barely hear her now. Nate nodded sincerely.

"I promise to take you to the caves tonight."

* * *

**So that was chapter two. I apologise for taking so long since the first chapter, but I have been so busy. Also kind of annoyed that I can't watch Degrassi because I don't live in the US or Canada. I mean I spent ages on YouTube looking for the clip where Clare kissed Eli in the finale. I will try and get another chapter up before the holidays but no guarantees. I will hopefully update 'Finding Home' before the end of the week and I'm aiming to finish the first part of my Hunger Games story. It's all taking me a while though.**

**The Black Rosette**


	3. Meeting Again

"What kind of sick joke is this?" Jamie spat at Jared and Melanie.

"It's not a joke, Jamie," Melanie replied calmly. "Tom is here. He's in our room at the moment." Jamie's legs collapsed from underneath him; he flopped onto the mattress and placed his hands on the back of his head as if he was trying to catch his breath. Age had done little to Jamie's appearance. Despite being in his early thirties, he still appeared boyish, as he most likely would for his whole life. The difference was that he no longer had the same joy about him that he once had. He spent long nights by himself thinking about what might have become of Tommy, and wondering what might have happened if he had stayed with his son. Jamie never dreamt that he would ever have the chance to meet his son as a child able to talk. The last time he saw Tommy, he had been just a baby, a tiny, innocent, speechless baby. Jamie, himself, had only been seventeen, not even yet an adult.

"Why is he here?" Jamie asked in a whisper.

"He was going on a raid with Nate and some of his lot. They were going to stop here during the day to be safe," Jared explained patiently.

"How do I speak to him?" Jamie asked nervously.

"You get up off your arse and you walk to our room?" Melanie suggested, neither men in the room could tell if she was serious or being light-hearted.

"No," Jamie said evenly, ignoring Melanie's suggestion, "How do I actually talk to him? How do I talk to a teenage boy I know nothing about?"

Melanie sighed, "I don't know, Jamie, I really don't; but I _do_ know you have to go see him." Jamie nodded and lifted himself up off the ground. His knees cracked as he stood up and, once again, he let out a sigh. Melanie grimaced at him as he crossed his arms and the two of them, plus Jared, headed down the tunnel to Jared and Melanie's cave.

Melanie ducked her head into the room; the sound of her muffled voice travelled back into the tunnel, the words unrecognisable. She popped her head back out and tipped her head towards the door. "Go on then." She told Jamie with a smile. Jamie uncrossed his arms and searched desperately in Melanie's eyes for some kind of help. Melanie gazed back at him with the same uncertainty that he felt, and Jamie realised she had no idea how to approach this situation either. Jared placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder, squeezing it gently, he pushed Jamie lightly towards the door. Jamie stumbled slightly on the rough floor of the tunnel, and then, warily, shuffled into the room. He slid up against the wall and looked across towards the boy sitting patiently in the corner of the room not touching a thing. Jamie's breath caught as he took the boy in. Tom Queens-Stryder, fifteen years old, a mirror of his father in his youth, but with the sparkling eyes of Casey Queens.

Tommy gazed at the man standing against the bubbled wall of the oddly shaped cave with the Swiss cheese ceiling. There were so many questions he wished to ask, but it felt wrong, so wrong given he'd never spoken a word to the man in front of him. There was no doubting this was his father, he knew that just from the man's looks, but was this his dad? The man, his father, opened his mouth as if so say something but as if he couldn't find the words he shut it again.

"What's your name?" Tommy asked quietly.

Jamie gazed at the boy, amazed by the voice that was like a record of his own. "James Stryder; though I've always just been Jamie; and your name?"

"Tom Queens; though everyone's calls me Tommy."

"Tom Queens-Stryder, not just Tom Queens."

"Mum never told me your name." Jamie stiffened at the mentioning of Casey Queens.

"How is she?" He asked tightly.

"Shit crazy, mental and moody." Jamie's brow creased, Casey was sick again? How could she possibly look after the boy in front of him if she was out of her mind again? Especially if she was anything like before.

"Does she look after you right?" Jamie's managed to ask.

"She doesn't really look after me," Jamie's jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth together and held his jaw rigid, "but Rachel always looked after me."

"Who's Rachel?"

"She lives with us. I guess she's like my mum; like Casey's my mother but Rachel is my mum. She raised me more than anyone else," Tommy stopped to think a moment, "Burns always helped out, so did Rob, but I think that was more because he's sweet on Rachel and wanted any excuse to be near her."

"So you were okay?"

"Just lonely."

"Why?"

"No kids my age, no one but adults to talk to, no one to play with." Jamie nodded; he knew the feeling of having no one else his own age around him. Growing up in the caves, he was surrounded by mostly adults. Wes was the closest to his age, but still five years old, or should've been five years older. He was nothing now. Then the only other children were Freedom and Isaiah, too young to play with, and by the time they themselves were old enough, he was too old for them. There had only been Casey for that short period of time. And sitting before him was the product of that.

"Did you love Casey?" The question took Jamie by surprise.

"Yes." He paused. "Do you love your mother?"

"Yes. Sometimes it's hard though."

"I know exactly what you mean; she could be difficult at times." Tommy nodded. "Do you like stories?" Tommy nodded again. "I'll get Wanda to tell you everything one day then; about the universe and the souls and all the different planets."

"Is Wanda like Burns?"

"Yes. Her real name is Wanderer. She brought my sister back to me when I was fourteen."

Tommy was curious now. "Are they still sharing a body then?"

"No, Mel is Mel, and Wanda has a different body, so we have both of them. Plus it was tricky when they were together because Melanie was in love with Jared, but Wanda with Ian. You've met Jared and Ian, yes?" Tommy nodded. "There's another here too, her name is Sunlight Passing Through The Ice, but we call her Sunny."

"We just have Burns. His real name is Burns Living Flowers; he told me all about the Fire World. Has Wanda or Sunny been there?"

"No, they haven't, but Sunny has been to the Mist Planet with the Bears, and Wanda has been to eight other planets." Tommy's eyes lit up and Jamie couldn't wait to introduce him to Wanda.

* * *

The car bounced across the desert once more. Nate turned sharply and swung the car around to face the rocky pile that concealed the vehicles. He drove in slowly and carefully, and no sooner had he cut the engine Casey was out; scrambling past the rocks ad out into the cold desert night. Her head swung around as she searched for a clue of which direction to head.

"Which way?" She demanded of Nate. Nate pointed defeatedly in the direction of the caves. "Right then." Casey strode in the direction that Nate had pointed. Nate jogged after her, bemused, and frightened, by Casey's determination. It wasn't long before their welcome party of look outs met them.

"Nate," Jared called into the night, "you're back again soon." Casey kept her head down and didn't even slow her pace until she was standing all but a metre from the group from the caves. She looked up and Jared and scowled.

"Move." She said in a low, cold voice.

"What are you doing here?" Jared asked in an equally cold voice.

"You, _Jared,_ have my son."

"You make it sound like we are holding him hostage, Casey," Jared said evenly, the statement filled with accusation.

"I want him back."

"He's with Jamie." Casey was crestfallen. She sucked in a small breath and turned her head away from Jared.

"And?" She whispered.

"And nothing." Casey turned her head back to Jared and then began to scan the group of familiar faces. Her heart stopped and her breath caught. Standing back slightly away from the others with a wary and conflicted expression was Ian O'Shea.

Ian opened his mouth and the first kind words of the night escaped his lips. Everyone turned to look at him as he offered: "I'll take her to the caves."

* * *

**So I had a bit of trouble getting this chapter going and I think it shows a bit, but I have ideas for the upcoming chapters, so, fingers crossed, they will flow slightly better than this chapter. Really this one ended up being more like a filler introducing what is to come.**

**The Black Rosette**


	4. Old Faces

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Host. Casey, Tom and Isla are my characters but the rest are the creation of Stephenie Meyer. **

* * *

They walked about three metres apart from each other. In the distance, back where they had first met, they could hear the others still arguing. Casey walked behind Ian and she watched his hand which was hanging loosely by his side. Ian had to fight against everything inside just so he wouldn't turn around to look at the girl behind him; but Casey wasn't a girl anymore. She had grown up. Everyone had.

"What's their name?" Casey whispered. Ian's body tensed but still he willed himself not to turn around. Casey sucked in a breath and added: "Your child's name?"

"Isla."

"A girl."

"Yes." They walked in silence for a few minutes more.

As soon as he knew they would be far enough away from the others, Ian let himself turn around to face Casey. She stopped and stood facing him. He had aged, of course, but still didn't look like she thought he would. Certainly he was different, but he was still Ian. He still had his dark, inky hair and his beautiful sapphire eyes. His skin was still pale like snow and he still looked tall and strong.

Ian took Casey in. There was no doubting how much she had changed, yet she too, was still Casey. She still had long, coppery bronze curls, but now they looked messy and unkempt, rather than the neat, glossy corkscrews that he remembered. She was tired, dark bags ringing her eyes. Her lips were cracked and dry. Her eyes were sad and still so green. She was no taller, but she was skinnier, much skinnier, as if she hardly ate at all. In nothing but her faded shirt and khaki shorts, Ian could see all the scars of what Tom had told them when they found him in the morning. 'She'd kill herself' Ton had told them. Ian stared at Casey's wrist, his eyes tracing over the shiny, pale scars.

"Why would you try to kill yourself?"

"I was unhappy."

Ian's hands balled into tight fists. "What about your son? What everyone that ever dared to care about you?" Ian hesitates.

"I hurt everyone. They don't really want me."

"How could you even say that?"

"It's true, when I look at my son I see Jamie. I hurt him and I hurt my son too. When he looks at me he doesn't see anything. He sees Rachel as his mother. When I close my eyes I see the caves and everyone in them. I hurt them all. And I see Wanda and all I feel is guilt. I hurt her more than anyone and she doesn't even know it. I took away what she loved most. You," Ian shifted slightly, he still felt that guilt every day of his life.

Casey continued: "And when I dream I see you. I see the last time I ever saw you, in your room. I hurt you too that day. Just by being there I hurt you because I left you with a burden, with a guilt, that will haunt you for your entire life."

Ian shook his head. "That was _not_ your fault Casey. I let that happen. I shouldn't have."

"Well I shouldn't have been there."

"But you were."

They both moved forward with more desperation then they had ever felt in their lives. They crashed together into a tight hug. Casey's head buried into Ian's chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her pulling her into him. She could hear his heart beating and before she could stop them the tears began flooding from her eyes. She cried and cried for what seemed like hours. She cried for her son, for Jamie, for Ian and Wanda, and the girl Isla. She cried for herself. And for the whole time she cried Ian never let her go.

Casey's sobs finally began to subside and she began to hiccup which made Ian laugh.

"Look at you," he whispered in awe.

Casey shook her head, "Please don't." Ian leant back from Casey and grabbed her wrist that he had looked at earlier. He traced the shiny lines of Casey scars with his fingers. He wondered why she had never used Smooth to hide the scars, but maybe she liked having them as reminders of her worst days.

"You're thinking again." Casey whispered.

"I always think," Ian told her sincerely.

"Well you were thinking about them," Casey nodded towards her scars.

Ian nodded grimly, "I was."

"What were you thinking?"

"That I'm glad you're alive and here with me now." And he truly was. Ian leaned forward and pecked Casey's forehead before pulling her back into a tight hug. They stayed silent for a minute and just listened to the quiet sounds of the desert night.

"Ian?" Casey whispered breaking the silence.

"Yeah, Case?"

"Can you take me to my baby boy?" Ian nodded.

* * *

The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon when they reached the caves. Despite the darkness of the tunnels, Casey knew exactly where the twists and turns where in the cave's path, where the rough spots were and where the tunnel grew narrow. It was like muscle memory, once you learnt, you never forgot. The cavernous plaza was already buzzing with cave-dwellers heading towards the kitchen when they reached it. Slowly the plaza ground to a halt as everyone stopped to stare at Casey who was trying to not meet any eyes. She couldn't help but look around though.

The faces were so familiar, just aged. Her breath caught when she saw the petite, blonde figure near the wall of the plaza across from her. Wanda. And there was a girl with her. The girl wasn't much younger then Tommy. She was tall and skinny, but looked strong too in a delicate way. Gorgeous masses of golden curls cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. She had clear, pale skin and a soft face. She was no doubt Isla and she was beautiful. How could she not be? Look at her parents.

Casey forced her eyes to the ground and felt tears prick in the back of her eyes again. As she passed through the cave mouth that led to the sleeping quarters, Casey heard the murmurs crescendo up into full discussion; about her, no doubt. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to think about it. They reached the tunnels that split off into the sleeping quarters and headed in an all too familiar direction. Casey counted the doors and feared she was heading to Ian's room, but instead Ian stopped in front of Jared and Melanie's room. Jared was still outside, she assumed, with Nate and the others from the welcoming party, but she couldn't be sure of Melanie and Jamie's whereabouts. Ian stuck his head into the room and Casey heard him exchange whispers with somebody inside. Her insides churned at the thought of seeing Jamie now, but instead Melanie emerged from the room. When she saw Casey hers nostrils flared and Casey braced herself for a beating.

"How dare you?" Melanie hissed at Casey. "How dare you come back here?"

"I just want my son."

"He's barely that." Melanie snapped. Casey felt as though she had been punched in the gut. Ian stepped between Melanie and Casey.

"Back off, Mel!" He snarled in Casey's defence. Melanie pushed past both Ian and Casey and began to stalk down the tunnel, but then she stopped and turned to face them again.

"Hurt my brother again, take his son away _again, _and I'll come after you Casey, I swear to God I will." Melanie warned coldly. Casey met Melanie's eyes and nodded her understanding. Melanie turned back again and disappeared through the mouth of the tunnel. Ian stepped away from the door to let Casey pass him. As she moved into the room Ian stopped her. He leant down and kissed her on the top of her head and reached for her hand which he squeezed reassuringly.

"Everything will be fine." He promised, and then he added: "I'll deck anyone who gives you grief." Casey pulled out of Ian's grasp and pushed on into the room smiling at the thought of Ian, of all people, decking a person in her interest. Casey's smile grew at the sight of a safe and sleeping Tom. She sat down on the mattress beside him and pushed his fringe out of his eyes.

"My beautiful boy," she whispered sadly, "I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you." She leant down and kissed his head. Tommy's eyes fluttered open and for a moment he was disorientated. He then remembered where he was and all that had happened to him in the past hours. He stared hard at his mother.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered sleepily.

"Coming for you, baby boy."

"I met him."

"I know."

"I like him Mum; I want him to be a part of my life. Forever."

Casey knew she couldn't deny him his father not now that he knew about him. "Okay."

"Why did you lie?"

Casey sighed "Because the truth hurts."

"It does."

"I love you, Tom." Casey whispered to her son.

"Yeah, well I love you too Mum, it's just hard, you know?"

"I know. I find it hard to love me too." Tom grabbed his mother's hand and held onto it tight. For all her faults, for all the times he felt his hatred for her bubbling over, he still loved her too. She was his mother.

"You know, you're my mum too. Rachel is like my mum but you are still my mum really. You'll always be." Tom reassured Casey.

"Thanks, Tommy." She gave his hand a squeeze.

Then everything changed again.

Jamie crashed into the room, "Breakfast in bed, Tom, just once only…" Jamie's voice trailed off when he saw that Tom wasn't alone. All of his feelings began to bubble back to the surface, his head was going into overdrive and his heart began to throb. His lips could barely even form her name, but there she was in front of him after all of these years and finally he breathed her name: "Casey."

* * *

**This will be interesting. **

**The Black Rosette**


	5. Confusion

**I do not own The Host, but Tom and Casey are my characters. Enjoy!**

* * *

Casey jumped, falling off the mattress. She hit the ground in a painful thud that was nowhere near graceful. Pain was shooting up through Casey's tailbone, which she'd no doubt bruised, but that wasn't what was making her mouth form a perfect O. Despite how much it hurt, she couldn't stop staring into Jamie's eyes.

Jamie stared back at her with just as much pain. It had been fifteen years since he'd see her; fifteen long miserable years. Jamie took in Casey, her once beautiful hair seemed scraggly and unkempt, her emerald eye had no shine. She was still Casey, but she was so different too. Her cheeks seemed hollow and she was skinny and stuck out in all the wrong places.

Casey took in Jamie. It was like looking at what Tom would look like fifteen, twenty years' time. His dark hair was shorter and stuck up at funny angles, but his eyes no longer shone like they once had, there was a hole inside of him. Jamie's skin was still a deep olive colour and he looked strong from years of manual work, but he was tired. Casey could see Jamie's fatigue straight away, like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

Tom pushed himself up onto his elbows and stared wide-eyed at his parents, his head turning from one to the other. He expected to see pain on Jamie's face, but all he saw was sadness and … longing? He turned back to his mother, her face was full of grief, sadness and … regret? Tom's head went between his parents again, there was still something between them, clearly; but it wasn't the same as the lovey buzz he felt whenever Rachel and Rob looked at each other. There was something more. Something powerful.

"We should talk." Casey breathed finally. Jamie nodded slowly. Casey looked down at Tom, "stay here," she instructed him. She kissed Tom's head and stood up, trying not to wince as pain rippled again through her tailbone.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked, noticing her wince.

"Fine." They both sighed and walked out of the room into the cave tunnel. Silently they both knew to go to Jamie's room. They stopped outside his room and Jamie turned to Casey.

"After you left, Brandt and Aaron moved back in with me. Sorry." Casey nodded; of course, it would be impractical for Jamie to have his own room when space was so valued. Jamie pushed the makeshift door out of the way. Casey peered into the familiar cave that she hadn't seen for years. It was divided into three. One third was spotless, everything perfect, the middle was a mess and the far third was a bit of both. Brandt was sitting on the edge of the mattress in the middle, messy third. He was flicking through a battered novel. He looked up at the pair, eyes widening.

"Can you read with that in the kitchen for a while?" Jamie asked Brandt. He nodded and left quickly. Jamie led Casey into the room and walked to the farthest third, the in between one. He offered her to sit down. Casey sat down and, once again, off went her tail bone. She'd definitely bruised it pretty badly when she'd hit the ground. Jamie sat on the other side of the mattress. Neither of them said anything, they just sat listening to the sound of each other's breathing.

A single tear slid down Casey cheek and before she could get to it, Jamie's fingers swiped across her cheek, wiping away the tear. Casey slid over so she was next to him and, cautiously, leant her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." Casey whispered to him.

"Casey…"

"No, Jamie, don't. I don't deserve it. I was so horrible and feel so awful and I did so many terrible things and…" Casey shook her head, trying desperately to find the words, "Jamie, I, hurt you so badly, and it makes me feel sick just knowing the pain I caused. And seeing Tom every day hurt so much too, because seeing him, well, it was like looking at you."

"Why did you have to take him away then?"

"Because, I was so confused and upset, I didn't know what to do. I was trying to do the right thing for everyone else, but we got hurt in the process."

"I've spent fifteen years wondering what it might be like to see you again, you know?" Casey nodded, she had been too. "I first thought I'd be angry, then I thought I'd hate you, that I'd grab you and kiss you and tell you how much I missed you; but really, after years and years of wondering, I realised I'd just want to know why."

"Jamie…"

"And now, I guess I know why…"

"Jamie…"

"And I want you to…"

"…Jamie, I kissed Ian."

Jamie stopped mid-sentence. "What?"

Casey hung her head in shame. "That's why I left; well I don't know who kissed who. I guess we were both guilty, we both kissed back. I felt so awful, I mean, his kid and Tom and Wanda and you, how could I have done something so selfish, so wrong?" Casey burst into sobbing tears. Jamie didn't pull back; he didn't move and let her head fall from his shoulder. In fact, Jamie wrapped an arm around her face and pulled her into him. Casey's arms wrapped around his neck, and for the second time that day she sobbed into a man she'd once loved. Still loved.

"I guessed as much." Jamie whispered to Casey.

"It shouldn't have happened," Casey sobbed, "I wish it hadn't, I wanted to do what was right, why do I always do things wrong?"

"Casey, everyone makes mistakes."

"Why do I fuck up everyone's lives?"

"Casey…"

"Don't tell me I don't, because I have!" Casey bellowed, "I have, ruined yours and Tom's and Ian's and everyone around me's lives. Why?"

"Because you love them and you're scared of loving because you think you'll screw up." Jamie told Casey. Casey looked up through watery eyes and Jamie.

"Why are you so amazing? I just told you I kissed a practically _married_ man and you're making excuses for me and telling me that it's okay and you're," Suddenly it hit Casey, smack in between the eyes, "You're forgiving me."

And then it hit Jamie too. He had forgiven her, in not so many words. He remembered once reading somewhere, or maybe he heard it from someone, that you can never have too many chances for the right person. And Casey was his right person. He had spent fifteen years wondering how he would react when he saw her again, and it turned out that he still loved her as much as he had then.

Jamie lips turned up into a small, sheepish smile. "Yes, love's kind of like that." For the first time, Casey let herself smile. She stared straight into Jamie's eyes and she smiled. Jamie grinned back at her and then they began to laugh. They laughed and laughed until their stomachs hurt.

Casey clutched her stomach, "This is silly." She laughed shaking her head. And within an instant Jamie's lips were against hers. Casey was taken back. Jamie couldn't believe what he'd done and he couldn't help but feel sad that Casey hadn't kissed him back.

But as he began to pull away, Casey stared straight into his eyes and kissed him. He didn't hesitate to kiss back either. They just sat on Jamie's mattress for what seemed like an eternity kissing. Finally Casey pulled away. She looked sheepishly away from Jamie, but Jamie pulled her into him again and lay back so her head was lying on his chest.

Casey wrapped her arms around Jamie's neck and listened to his heartbeat. She didn't know what to do now. She still loved Jamie, she knew that, but then there was Ian too. Did she still love Ian the same way she loved Jamie? It was different, yes, but which was right?

"Jamie," he nodded, "I need time to think, okay. Everything is really confusing at the moment and I don't know what to do." Jamie nodded again.

"I get that. You can have all the time you want."

"Thank you." Casey closed her eyes. She'd have to work out what she was feeling quick fast, she couldn't keep going like this.

She was going to make things right; this time she would learn from her stupid mistakes; this time she was growing up for good.

* * *

**Next chapter you shall be meeting the naughty teenage cave-dwellers. I am very excited by my next chapter, and I hope you will be too!**

**The Black Rosette**


	6. The Story of a Princess

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Host, however Tom, Casey, Isla, Cain, Nick and Rima are my creations for this story.**

* * *

Melanie stuck her head into her room and found Tom all on his own. She cocked her head to the side, "Where is Casey or Jamie?" She enquired.

Tom shrugged, "Went to talk," he explained.

"They left you here?"

"Yeah," Tom paused, "I'm bored though."

Melanie laughed, "Come on, I'll take you to meet the other kids." Tom beamed.

Melanie led Tom through the dark, twisting maze of the caves and into a large, right plaza. Tom squinted at the roof which seemed impossibly bright. Melanie saw Tom's questioning looks to the ceiling, "mirrors," she told him. Tom nodded, that made sense. Melanie took him into another dark tunnel. He could hear the sounds of chatter and clattering dishes.

"You're in luck," Melanie smiled as they came into a long, large room, "It's the middle of breakfast time." Tom couldn't believe what he was seeing, there were at least thirty-five people in the room, it was full. Long, stone tables, like counters, ran down the room. Along the tables were seats, almost all of which were occupied. Two women were serving food at the end of the room.

"You hungry?" Melanie asked. Tom nodded eagerly, Jamie had brought him food, but it had been spoiled when he saw Casey because he dropped it. Melanie led Tom through the room to the where the food was. It smelt wonderful and Tom's stomach gurgled.

One of the two women serving, a blonde woman, not much older than Melanie, mouth dropped a little when she saw Tom. "Is this?" She asked Melanie, who nodded. "Wow, he looks just like Jamie."

"Tom, this is Paige," Melanie introduced the blonde woman. Melanie indicated to the other woman who, too, had noticed Tom too, "This is Lily." Lily had long, caramel coloured hair that matched her skin almost perfectly. She had a kind, pretty smile that beamed at Tom. Paige handed Tom a bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Just had a raid, plenty of eggs," Paige told Tom. He took the bowl and thanked Paige and Lily. Melanie sat Tom down at a less busy end of a table. People all around the room were looking at him now. Melanie moved off to talk to a pretty woman with curly, golden hair. He stared at his eggs as he ate them, unsure how to talk to anyone here. He didn't know any of them.

He heard them first. Four figures slid into the chairs around him. He looked up to see a girl not much younger than him with tumbling masses if golden curls and the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. She had pale skin and lots of little freckles around her eyes and across her nose. Next to her on one side were two boys, identical twins with floppy blonde hair, bleached lighter by the sun and chocolate brown eyes; on the other side was a gloomy looking girl with dark hair and dark eyes. They all seemed similar age to him, if not slightly younger.

"Isla," the girl with the blue eyes beamed at him. "You're Jamie's son?"

"How did you…"

"Know?" Isla finished his sentence. "Oh, we all know about you. People still talk about you, wonder about you. Tom, right?" Tom nodded, taken back. How people he'd never met wonder about him?

Isla pointed at the twins, "Cain and Nick, don't worry you'll get used to telling them apart eventually," she pointed at the gloomy girl, "this is Rima." Tom wasn't really sure what to say, so he said "hello."

Isla glanced across the room, as if looking out for someone and then she leant in towards Tom. "We've got a bag full of food: bread, apples, juice, muesli bars and chocolate. We nicked it from the storage area. We're skipping school to hide in the cornfields," She paused to grin at Tom, "Wanna come?"

Tom had never spent time with kids his own age, the offer was too tempting. "Sure."

"Come on then." The four stood up and began to towards the door. Isla had a basket with her. Tom got up and followed them, wary of Melanie's who was watching him go. Tom hurried to catch up. He didn't know his way around these caves and would surely end up lost if he got left behind.

"We're avoiding the plaza." Isla told him as they wove their way through dark, seemingly endless tunnels. After several minutes of walking they came to an opening with a high, bright roof. The opening was large and most of the space was taken up by a massive corn field. Tom couldn't believe what he was seeing. The others pushed into the corn and trudged to the middle where they sat down on the dirt.

"It's great," Isla told him, "They can't even see us."

"We do this all the time," one of the twins told him, "But we always change our hiding spot to confuse them."

"One time we even went outside for the day," Rima added.

"Why?" Tom asked.

"Because, school's boring," Rima pouted at Isla, "Sorry, Rims, but Sharron doesn't make the lesson very interesting."

"Yeah, the best lessons are Soul History with Wanda." Rima turned to glare daggers at the twin who'd spoken.

The other twin grabbed her hand, "Rims, don't kill him, he might be your brother-in-law one day!" Rima laughed and moved so she was sitting between his legs with her head on his chest. The twin wrapped his arms around her.

"Sharron is Rima's mum," Isla explained, "That's why she gets so antsy when we talk about how dull school is."

"I don't get antsy!"

"You do." The twin with his arms around her laughed. Rima pouted again, "But you're still super cute." He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

Tom decided he was sick of thinking of each of the twins as 'the twin', so he worked up the courage to ask how to tell them apart. The twins laughed.

"Well, Cain has a freckle above his eyebrow," the twin holding onto Rima, Nick, pointed at the noticeable freckle above Cain's eyebrow.

"And Nick is usually glued to Rima," Cain added, "Except when her mum is around. Sharron is like the _only_ person in these freaking caves that doesn't know that these two are sneaking around, _trying _to act like they're not swapping spit." Isla laughed.

"'Trying' being the key word!" Isla snorted. Cain chuckled and Rima flipped them both off.

"How old are you all anyway?" Tom asked, slowly gaining his confidence with the other teenagers.

"I'm fifteen," Isla told him.

"We're fourteen." The twins sang in unison.

"Fourteen in three months," Rima told him.

"She's our whiny baby," Isla teased, "How old are you, Tom?"

"Fifteen and a half."

"Haha, Isla, you're not the oldest anymore." Rima laughed. Isla pulled a face at her. "What you're still not old enough for _Freedom,_" Rima held a hand to her heart and pretended to swoon. The twins laughed.

"I don't like Freedom!" Isla was pretty unconvincing.

"Yeah. Right. Sure. Whatever you say, Isla."

Isla turned to me, "So is your mum the pretty redhead that came in this morning with my dad?" Tom frowned; he didn't know who Isla's dad was.

"Maybe, I don't know who your dad is, but my mum has red hair and she's pretty, I guess."

"Oh my dad's Ian. Dark hair, blue eyes?" Tom nodded, remembering the man who'd been his mother's friend. "He used to talk about your mum, well not so much her directly, but I figured the stories must be about someone he once knew. I assumed someone from before the souls came, but then I saw your mum this morning with Dad and it clicked. You know how sometimes you can just tell? Like in the stories he told she was so beautiful, but looked really sad so much of the time. And he was so protective of her this morning, like he just had this look in his eyes, like he'd hit anyone that even got near her." Isla was not the kind to hold back, once she started, it was like floodgates opening; she couldn't stop.

"He told stories about her?" Tom asked questioningly.

"Well, they were stories about a brave young princess who was sometimes very sad. The princess used to go on big adventures along with her Knight best friend who also looked after her and cheered her up. I don't think the adventures were real, but the friendship was."

"Were there any other characters?" Tom asked Isla.

Isla nodded, "The princess had Duke friend too, and that Duke was in love with the princess and she loved him too, but sometimes she wondered if she loved him as much as he loved her. There was a little prince too, he belonged to the princess but she was very scared that she wouldn't look after the prince properly because she loved him so much. The Duke that was in love with the princess loved the prince too and the prince looked just like him –on reflection I'd say that the prince was their son, but I didn't get that stuff when was little. The princess' best friend was in love with a Princess from faraway kingdom…" Isla stopped and bit her lip.

"What, there's more?" Tom asked. Isla nodded, she had everyone's attention now.

"Well the Knight was very confused and he kissed the princess. He felt very bad because he still loved his princess from the faraway kingdom. So to make everything better, the princess left the kingdom, taking the little prince with her. She left behind the Knight so he could be with his princess from a faraway kingdom, and left behind the Duke that loved her because she felt so sad and didn't want to hurt him anymore, but really that Knight that loved her spent his whole life wondering about her, still loving that princess."

"It's just a story though?" Cain's voice had a little catch in it, like he'd just got it.

"Of course," Isla sounded unsure, "My dad just used to tell it to me before I went to bed. He told me lots of stories, not just that one, it was my favourite though." Something clicked in Isla's head; the others could see it on her face.

"Isla?"

"I used to ask him to tell it to me, but he'd always tell me it was my special story that only I got to hear, so he couldn't tell me it when Mum was around." They were all silent.

"Is the Knight Ian?" Nick asked.

"And the princess is Tom's mum?" Cain added onto Nick's question.

"I think so, and the Duke must be Jamie and the princess from a faraway kingdom is Mum, and the little prince is Tom."

Rima took in a big breath, "So if the Knight is Ian, then Ian kissed Tom's mother, but he was still in love with Wanda. And Jamie has just loved Tom's mother forever, but we all knew that. And Tom's mother…"

"Casey."

"…Casey loved Ian and Jamie, but she was confused over how much she loved them and who she really wanted?"

"Shit that's messed up." Nick whispered shaking his head.

"Seems like," Rima paused, uncertain, "Everything that Casey did was trying to make right what she'd done wrong. She left her friends to protect Wanda, and assumingly Isla, and so Ian wouldn't have to choose." Tom realised for all her moodiness, Rima was surprisingly perceptive.

"I knew there had to be a reason," Tom whispered, nodding, "I knew that she always seemed to be hiding from something."

"We need to promise not to tell _anyone_." Isla said firmly, "Nobody can know."

"Shouldn't we tell someone?" Nick asked.

"No." Isla shook her head, "Nobody. This, " Isla stopped and took in a slightly panicked breath, "This is my _dad _we're talking about. He loves my mum; _know _he loves my mum." Isla's voice slightly on the last words, but she was adamant. No telling.

Rima stuck her hand out in front of her.

"What's this?" Nick asked her.

"Hands in, we're making a vow." Isla put her hand on top of Rima's, as did Tom, Nick and Cain. "We vow never to utter a word of our discovery to anyone, ever."

"Ever," Isla emphasised.

Tom stared at their hands which were still hovering in the middle of the group. He had finally learnt the truth about his past, all in the past day. How could his life have changed so fast? So rapidly? He stared at the hands contemplating what to do now.

Should he speak to his mother? Should he tell his father or Isla's mother?

Would that be fair, to tell them something long in the past that could ruin their future?

He couldn't be sure.

* * *

**That was a long chapter. So Tom's past is really starting to unravel now as Casey, Jamie and Ian's story begins to come out. Stay tuned for some more fun with these teenagers, they're the focus of many upcoming chapters.**

**For anyone who was curious, Isla is obviously Ian and Wanda's daughter, Rima is Sharron and Doc's daughter, and Cain and Nick are Paige and Andy's twins. There are other kids in the caves too, I'll introduce them in upcoming chapters.**

**The Black Rosette**


End file.
